Google adds AI to satellite images, raising fears of deepfakes in the sky
Google has introduced an AI feature in Google Earth that allows users to generate satellite-style images based on text prompts. Experts warn that this tool could be easily abused to create deepfakes, undermining the reliability of satellite imagery used for verifying news and human rights abuses.
Why it matters
The potential for AI-generated misinformation in satellite imagery poses a significant threat to open-source intelligence and the verification of global events.
Google has unveiled a new feature that allows users to create AI-generated satellite images with the click of a button on its Google Earth platform.
In its announcement of the new feature on Thursday, the company said it was designed to work with users' imaginations: "Just zoom in to a place in Google Earth on web (sic), tap 'create image,' and type whatever you want to see," Bryan Horowitz, a product manager wrote.
But for experts and analysts who rely on Google's imagery to verify breaking news and atrocities in hard-to-reach parts of the world, the potential to create deepfake satellite imagery at the click of a button was horrifying. NPR was able to easily generate images of Iran's Kharg Island on fire, and a flooded U.S. Capitol complex. Both events, which have not happened, would constitute major news if they were real.
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